The transmutation and irradiation performances of the XT-ADS

The EUROTRANS project is an integrated project in the 6. European Framework Programme in the context of partitioning and transmutation (P and T). The objective of this project is the step-wise approach of a European Transmutation Demonstration. This project aims to deliver an advanced design of a small-scale accelerator-driven system (ADS), XT-ADS, as well as the conceptual design of a European Facility for Industrial Transmutation, EFIT. The design of both machines is co-ordinated in Domain 1 (DM1) ''Design'' of the project. The main objectives of the XT-ADS are: demonstration of the ADS concept, providing a test facility for transmutation and providing irradiation possibilities in conditions representative of EFIT operating conditions. The latter allows the use of the XT-ADS as a materials testing facility as well as an aid for the fuel qualification of EFIT and for the qualification of candidate structural materials. The XT-ADS core is based on MOX fuel relatively high in Pu content and is cooled using a lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE). The combination of these two components results in a fast spectrum core. During the first 18 months of the project, the core of the XT-ADS has been developed starting from the MYRRHA DRAFT2 file. The XT-ADS core has only been fixed at the end of last June, so the calculations relating to this reference core are ongoing. There have been some scoping studies in the MYRRHA project on the capabilities as an irradiation facility (in-pile sections). As with the modified fuel pin and fuel assembly design, we started from the work done in the MYRRHA project to define the respective capabilities for the XT-ADS. (authors)